Chapter Ten: "It Takes Two"
Alcoholic drinks had never suited me. I didn't like the way they burned my stomach and so, I drank very little out of the glass Martha handed me.
"Feeling better?" she asked me after several minutes of typing.
She was expecting me to say yes, so that's what I did. In the meantime, when she wasn't looking, the dehydrated plant on the floor next to her desk was receiving most of it.
"Good."
"All right, missy," the Sheriff announced, joining us once again. "I spoke with my friend and he said he'll get here as soon as he can, but it's going to take him at least two hours."
Two hours? I didn't want to appear ungrateful, but the grin I revealed was forced. It had taken Ben and me a little over three hours to reach the coast, so I figured whoever this was lived somewhere between here and the city. Who was he I wondered? A hitman? Surely not. Sheriff Abernathy was a little demeaning toward me, but he was certainly not tied to anything illegal. He couldn't be or else it was up to me to save Ben and Mr. Quinn, and me alone! Could I actually shoot someone? When it came down to it, if Ben's life was at stake, you bet I could! Especially if that someone was an evil witch.
What I was hoping for was a private detective or perhaps a retired police officer. Somebody who knew how to handle himself with a gun and wasn't afraid of danger. I wondered how much I would have to pay for this help? Even though the Sheriff hadn't mentioned payment, I imagined nobody would help a stranger for free.
"Thank you for everything," I told the couple. "I'll take a seat in the waiting area."
"Everything's going to be okay dearie," Martha said while patting my arm.
Again, I forced a smile and went back to the cracked brown vinyl couch beneath the large, amateurish painting of pink roses signed by none other than Martha Abernathy.
There was a wide selection of magazines on the table before me. I chose a recent issue of Life and mindlessly flipped through a few pages before laying it back down. It was useless. All I could think about was Ben and what could possibly be happening to him.
My head ached and when I awoke, I almost asked Ami for some aspirin. But then I realized I couldn't move. I suddenly remembered what had happened and slowly opened my eyes. Wherever I was, it was dark, although there was dancing light upon the high ceiling. Candles. I could smell burning wax.
I could turn my head, but that was all. Cold iron held my wrists as well as my ankles tightly, and if I wasn't mistaken, I wasn't wearing anything but my briefs. What I was lying on felt like stone. It too was cold and soon my body began shivering.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Asking for help was worth a shot, although I had the feeling I was alone. At least for the time being. If I was to take a guess, it would be that one of Asa's thugs had knocked me out and drug me to the lowest part of her castle. My cry had echoed at least twice, which told me that the room contained obstacles, support beams most likely; another clue I was beneath the castle.
On the wall to my right were painted signs and images that reminded me of something I'd seen in a tourism advertisement for Ireland once. Were these Irish symbols? What was the word? Think Ben! Druid! That was it. These were symbols of Druidism I believed.
I turned my head the other way and saw more drawings that made me catch my breath. It was a series of scenes depicting what appeared to be some type of ritual. Again, a blood ritual, only this time, the sacrifice wasn't a goat. It was a human.
This apparently was the place Asa performed human sacrifices. As the reality of my situation sunk in, my shivering worsened, only this time it was from nerves, not the cold.
The ticking clock on the wall revealed two hours had gone by. Where was this man? From the couch, I could see the road coming into town as well as the Nash. I had parked on the right side of the building. If the man I was waiting for parked on the left, I wouldn't be able to see him. But I could hear him.
And no sooner had the thought left my mind that I heard the crunching sound of somebody walking through the graveled lot. My heart sped up and I stood to greet my help.
He didn't look surprised to see me. Only disappointed. I, on the other hand, was ecstatic to see a familiar face and I flew into his arms.
"Mr. Dunn! What a relief to see you! You have no idea! Thank you for coming. Thank you!"
His body had stiffened though I did receive a slight pat on one of my shoulders.
"It's all right, Miss Berrie," I heard his deep voice rumble while his comforting pat continued.
I knew my greeting was awkward for him, but I couldn't help but hold onto him for a while. So much had happened and now Ben's life was in danger. It was too much to bear and suddenly, it washed over me like a wave. I sobbed onto his uniform and my resolve, as well as my body, crumbled.
Chief Dunn guided me back to the couch while Mrs. Abernathy brought a drink. Thankfully, it was just plain water this time. I two a few sips and then waved her off.
"I'm okay. Thank you. I guess I haven't slowed down enough to realize the amount of stress I've been under.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Chief Dunn asked me. I'd never seen that much concern in his dark eyes before. Perhaps he did care for me and Ben after all. He did come. But wait – how did Sheriff Abernathy know Mr. Dunn?
My answer came when the Sheriff bounded through the gate and shook Dunn's hand vigorously.
"You old bastard," Abernathy said, followed by a throaty chuckle.
"Watch who you're calling old, my friend. And what's this?" Dunn playfully poked Abernathy in the belly. "Martha? What have you been feeding him lately?"
"Just slowing down is all."
"I know the feeling," Dunn replied.
Only then did the Sheriff pay attention to me, although he was only speaking to Mr. Dunn about my situation. Neither of them looked in my direction.
"It looks like she's got herself and her boyfriend in a bit of a jam. I was hoping you could perhaps go have a look-see over in Bracken. Maybe you can locate Quinn as well as this boy. What's his name again sweetheart?"
"Ben Noble," I informed the Sheriff, although Mr. Dunn knew perfectly well who I was with and why. Abernathy had been on the phone with him long enough for plenty of details to be shared.
"Do you think she's well enough to travel Bill? She did look faint a little while ago."
"I'm fine," I objected, standing to my feet. "I'm going along with you Chief Dunn. There's no way anyone is going to stop me!"
"Calm down Miss Berrie. I didn't say you weren't going. I've never been to Fort Bracken, and I'm going to need a guide."
"Thank you," I told Dunn. "May we leave now? I'm really worried about Ben."
"Best be on my way," the Police Chief told his friends, completely ignoring my plea. "Martha, take good care of this old badger. I'll be in touch."
After the two had shaken hands again, I said my farewells and quickly stepped outside.
"We can take my car," I suggested, "but I'm getting low on fuel."
"Good," Dunn said while walking to his patrol car. "I wasn't about to get in that thing. It looks like something circus clowns drive."
Grateful, I got into his vehicle with him. "That's exactly what Ben says about it."
"Besides," Dunn told me with a smirk. "I'd like to get there in one piece."
"I beg your.."
The end of my sentence got stuck in my throat as Chief Dunn slammed down the gas pedal and we went fishtailing out onto the highway, leaving tire marks behind us.
In no time, he had to be exceeding the speed limit, by at least 20 mph, although I wasn't going to say a thing. The faster he drove, the faster we'd get to Ben.
There was something I was wanting to say, however.
"How do you know the Abernathys?"
Chief Dunn looked comfortable and at ease, while I was holding onto the door handle as tightly as I could.
"I met Bill during the war. Quinn too, actually. We watched each other's backs and spent a lot of time being philosophical about what we wanted out of life when the war was over. All three of us decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. The plan was to be at the same precinct, but Bill's mother got cancer and he moved to the coast to take care of her. That's where he met Martha and they've stayed there ever since."
Dunn passed a car and accelerated even more. At one point I actually closed my eyes, thinking perhaps my death wouldn't be as shocking if I didn't see it coming.
"What about Quinn?"
Ben had mentioned to me before how he suspected that Mr. Quinn and Mr. Dunn had been good friends. Something had happened though, that broke up their friendship and nowadays, they rarely spoke to one another.
"Quinn. That sonofabitch."
I wasn't used to hearing such language. Sometimes Ben would lose his temper, but I'd never heard him call someone any sort of name like that.
"Pardon me," Dunn smiled and looked at me.
As he did, I had to fight the urge to ask him not to take his eyes off the road!
"We started out in the same precinct and he went and did something as stupid as punch our boss in the face. Got him demoted back down to desk clerk. After that, he left the force and opened his own agency."
"Why did he do that?" I asked. I knew Mr. Quinn was pretty tough on criminals but treated everyone else with respect.
Dunn drove on for a few seconds as if he was trying to decide whether to tell me or not.
"He got it into his head that the Chief didn't like me very much. Quinn said he overheard him talking on the phone about me and called me some choice names. Those that are based on my race, of course."
"Oh," I replied. I could see Mr. Quinn getting upset over that.
"He told me about it and when he saw I wasn't going to do anything, he marched right into the man's office and punched him in the face. Bruised his eye good." Dunn chuckled. "After Quinn left, I guess we both just got too busy to stay in touch and now, it's this rotten business of chasing criminals that brings us together. You know, when Quinn first told me about his agency, I doubted he'd succeed at it. Not that he's not a good cop. He was one of the best. It was because he was doing it alone. Then he hired Ben, and I pointed out the problems with that as well. Although it was none of my business. But Ben was too young and inexperienced. Trust me, he's come a long way since then."
"And now?" I asked. I was astounded Mr. Dunn was talking to me this much. Ben was never going to believe this!
"Now? I guess the boy can hold his own, although he takes too many risks. This right here for example. What gave him the idea he could come down to Fort Bracken and stick his nose into Matt's affairs?"
"We were worried about him!"
"He was on vacation."
"He wasn't where he told us he was going to be and then we couldn't get ahold of him!" I argued.
Dunn reached up and pulled a toothpick from his visor and placed it between his teeth. He then switched off the car's lights.
"I can almost guarantee Quinn's in the middle of an investigation and you and Ben have only complicated matters."
"I…I mean, we…" I couldn't think of an excuse or decent explanation that would prove him wrong, so I simply quit talking.
"Don't worry. I'm about to figure this all out for myself. We're within the city limits."
Seeing the welcome to Fort Bracken sign again was bittersweet. I had grown to hate this place and yet, was very happy to see it again.
'Hang on, Ben,' I told him within my mind. 'Help is coming.'
